JOHNNIE WALKER GLOBAL CAMPAIGN STRIDES INTO CANADA
By Adnews Staff
Johnnie Walker, distributed in Canada by Toronto-based UDV Canada Inc., is debuting a "Keep Walking" global advertising campaign in the Canadian market via billboard and print advertising. The global effort, from Bartle Bogle Hegarty of London, is a first for the Scotch whiskey brand. Canada is the first market to see the global campaign. The creative moves away from traditional images associated with Scotch whiskey toward themes of progress and personal achievement. Billboard ads, which broke on October 2 in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, and print ads, which began running in the National Post yesterday, feature a single "inspirational" quote. An updated version of the Johnnie Walker "Striding Man" logo, originally designed in 1909, is also used in the campaign's creative. Advertising, scheduled to run for 12 weeks, is being supported with "Journey of Taste" Scotch-tasting and information events being held in Toronto in October. The events are being coordinated by The Engine Room and Plain & Simple, both of Toronto. Adaptation of the advertising creative and media buying in Canada was done by Leo Burnett of Toronto. Public relations supporting the campaign are being handled by Langdon Starr Ketchum of Toronto. The "Keep Walking" campaign is scheduled to break in the UK over the next couple of weeks, to be followed by the U.S. market.